Joseph Johnson (FDNY Commissioner) explained

Joseph Johnson
Birth Name:Joseph H. Johnson Jr.
Birth Date:16 June 1871
Birth Place:Griffin, Georgia
Death Place:Atlanta, Georgia
Order:8th
Office:New York City Fire Commissioner
Term Start:1911
Term End:1913
Appointed:William Jay Gaynor
Predecessor:Rhinelander Waldo
Successor:Robert Adamson

Joseph H. Johnson Jr. (June 16, 1871 – March 7, 1942) was New York City Fire Commissioner from 1911 to 1913. He was chief of the New York City Transit Authority. By 1918 he was deputy New York City Comptroller. He served as chief of the New York Public Service Commission in 1921.

Biography

Johnson was born on June 16, 1871, in Griffin, Georgia, to Joseph H. Johnson Sr. (1840–1910) and Sarah E. Beeks (1844–1884). He first worked as a newspaper man.

He was appointed the 8th New York City Fire Commissioner by Mayor William Jay Gaynor on June 1, 1911, and served in that position until the end of the term of Mayor Ardolph L. Kline in 1913.

He was deputy New York City Comptroller and he took a leave of absence in 1918, when the United States entered World War I, to temporarily join the American Red Cross.[1]

He later was Chief of the Transit Bureau of the Public Service Commission.

He was appointed as chief of the Commissioner of Public Works in 1921 replacing Clarence Fay.[2]

He died at his Atlanta, Georgia, home on March 7, 1942.[3]

Notes and References

  1. News: Red Cross Drafts Joseph Johnson . . March 29, 1918 . 2013-12-26 .
  2. News: Joseph Johnson Gets Tammany Plum. Appointed Commissioner of Public Works for Manhattan, to Succeed Clarence Fay. Began As Newspaper Man. Vice Chairman Kenneally of the Board of Aldermen to Be His Assistant. . Joseph Johnson, who has held many administrative jobs in the city, including those of Fire Commissioner, Chief of the Transit Bureau of the Public Service Commission, Deputy Controller and ... . . December 31, 1921 . 2009-11-19 .
  3. News: Joseph Johnson Dies. Fire Commissioner 1911-13. Was Named by Gaynor. Dies in Home in Atlanta. Former Newspaper Man. Began 'Model Saloon' in 1904. Had Been Film Executive and Served Red Cross . . March 8, 1942 . 2013-12-26 .